The Book, My Curse
by Ravenheart
Summary: Just an idea I had while trying to get back into the flow of writing. I think I'm gonna continue this one. Warning, rated T, but there is some language.
1. Origins

Disclaimer: I don't own Evangelion or any characters, situations or anything related to the series. I also do not own 'The Twilight Zone' or any of the wonderful plots associated with it. I own myself, and the book… unfortunately.

Neon Genesis Evangelion:

The Book, My Curse

By Ravenheart

I'm driving home from work one night, and traffic was heavy as usual. I'm hoping to be home around 7 that night, but that didn't seem possible at this point. So, I turn off of the road and into the parking lot of a familiar outdoor type strip-mall to just take a look in some of the stores while traffic has a chance to settle down. But as I drive past the front of several stores while looking for a parking space, I note that there's a new bookstore here. The name was cheesy… something like 'The Writer's Block.'

Anyway, I figure they might have something I'm interested in, so after I find a space, I walk over to the store, open the door, and walk inside. The interior wasn't very surprising or unique, if you've been in one bookstore you've been in them all, but there was a fairly large selection of books here.

"Welcome to my store sir, my name is Marcus, just let me know if you need anything." I turned to look at the man speaking to me, and I was surprised by how unsightly this man looked. Long, scraggly white hair, crooked teeth, and slightly buggy eyes. Tall and thin too, but he seemed nice enough… well polite anyway.

I nod to him and start looking through the shelves of books searching for familiar authors or titles. I find a few books that might be interesting, but not really interesting enough for me to buy. I put back the last book I was looking at and start to make my way to the door since I didn't find anything I really wanted to buy.

"Sir, leaving so soon?"

I turn to look where his voice came from and I note that he's standing in the doorway marked 'Staff only' "Yeah, there were a few books I saw but I wasn't really interested enough to want to buy them.

"Oh, that's too bad… But I think I may have something back here you might be interested in."

Now, I may be fairly young, but I know when something stinks. "Ye-ah, sure. If you really got something for me, why not bring it out here for me to look at…"

"Hm… Okay." And with that he turns and walks into the back room and a few seconds later, he returns with a brown leather-bound book in hand. When he gets closer, he holds the book out for me to take. "Here you go."

I take a closer look at the book without taking it from him. I notice that the book has no obvious title or author marked on either cover or its spine. If anything, it looks more like a person's journal than anything else. "You want me to buy a journal?"

"Not just any journal… Most people write about what's happened to them, and what they want to happen to them in their journals, but it's still up to them to make those wants happen. It's not like that with this book."

"So you're telling me what? …That this book will turn whatever I write in it to reality?"

The clerk holding the book out for me to take smiles his broken grin and chuckles. "Something like that, yes."

"Hold on, is it that or is it something else?"

"Think of this book as a genie of sorts. Only with this genie, you get as many wishes as you can fit in its pages. There are a few rules though… One: if you try to write something in this book that contradicts something else you've written, the most recent thing you wrote will vanish from the book and not be granted. And two, you can't wish for more pages in the book, another book like this or for the pages in the book to be erased."

"That's it?"

He grins again: "That's it."

"Well, if that's all there is to it, and this thing will give you whatever you want, then why are you giving it to me?"

"Let's just say that I have no real use for it since I already have everything I want or need." Again with that smile.

Against my better judgment, I take the book from his somewhat bony looking hands and open the cover. For a moment, I could have sworn I saw the words 'take the book' written on the first page, but after I blinked it was gone. "So how much do I owe you for this?"

He shakes his head slightly still smiling that unsettling but still friendly smile. "No, that particular book isn't in my inventory so it wouldn't be right of me to charge you for it… Think of it as a gift for being one of my first patrons.

With a rather odd feeling in the back of my mind, and the book in hand, I make my way back to my car and continue on my way home. Once there, I toss my coat over one of the chairs in the living room, and let the book fall on one of the cushions of the couch. I put an instant dinner in the microwave, and when that's done I take it to the couch, pop in one of my Evangelion DVD's and start watching.

As I watch, and start to identify with Shinji a bit like I usually do, the book somehow draws my attention. I get the idea in my head that the guy back in that bookstore was an awfully bad con… he didn't even manage to part me from any of my money. But there was still that nagging voice in the back of my skull that kept asking me 'What if it's real? What if it's real?' Shaking my head, I get up and grab the book. I locate a pen and I open the book. "I am going to prove to myself that this is just a book. It's not my fault that guy at the bookstore is a kook." And with that, I start writing:

'I want to know what the Eva universe would have been like if I were one of Shinji's close friends.'

I put the pen down, close the book and look around. No smoke, no magical glow, no portals… no nothing. It really is just another stupid book.

With that, I toss the book in the garbage and head off to bed.

And that's when my life took a sharp left-hand turn into what could very well be The Twilight Zone.

TBC…

Let me know what you think of this idea… it's just a premise, lots of directions this can take, but I figured I'd test the waters.

For those of you who are worried about it… No, I'm not looking to make myself into a perfect pilot, hook myself up with any of the Eva ladies, or anything self-serving like that. I'm just not that kind of person.


	2. The Hell?

See Chapter 1 for disclaimer.

Neon Genesis Evangelion:

The Book, My Curse

Chapter 2:

When I wake the next morning nothing seems all that different. I shut off my alarm clock and haul myself out of bed. I'm not a morning person so it's always been difficult for me to get out of bed before noon on any given day. Groggily, I glance at the calendar on my wall as I pass and note today is Saturday, so I don't have to work. I consider going back to bed, but figure that there'd be no real point since I won't actually get to sleep again anyway.

I shuffle my way into the bathroom and take care of morning business as usual before going to the kitchen to prepare my breakfast. It's then that I notice that the layout of my apartment isn't the same as it was when I went to bed the night before. I walk back to the bedroom and note that it's different too, but I am alone in the apartment and there are a few items I recognize as mine around the room.

While looking around carefully, I see that damned book lying on top of my dresser, almost as if it's mocking me.

'No… Can't be… That's impossible…'

I step over to my dresser and pick up the book. Opening it, I see the wish I wrote down in it last night. The only difference is that is seems to have been burned into the page, not written with ink. And on the inside of the cover is written: "Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it."

I drop the book and stagger backwards from it. 'It can't possibly have worked…'

I rush into the living room and switch on the TV. I'm shocked when the channel that comes up features all Japanese actors and is presented in Japanese. I'm even more wierded out when I notice I can understand what's being said. Not like I'm hearing English but I know they're speaking Japanese; more like I'm fluent in Japanese.

Still staring at the television screen, I fall to my knees, mouth gaping. 'Holy crap… it worked.' I'm frozen in place there for a while, stunned to the core by the gravity of my situation. I've been dropped into the world of Evangelion. The world around me is the one I've imagined and played with for so long. The one which is the basis for several other versions I've read about and am so familiar with.

And now I can think of only one thing: 'I'VE GOT TO GET OUT OF HERE!' I rush back to my room and toss open the cover of the book not bothering to pick it up or re-examine the writing on the inside of the cover. I begin to write another wish: 'I want to go home.'

As I watch, the letters I just wrote fade from the page leaving no trace of their ever existing. I try again and again… Every time the words disappear. After the very last time I attempt to make the wish, another set of words appear briefly in the place of my most recent attempt: 'You ARE home.' After only seconds, those words too, fade from the page.

In a panic, I try a different approach: 'I wish I never got this book.' Again the words fade from the page to be replaced by another set: 'Remember the rules… That would undo your first wish…' Again the reminder fades away. Again I try something else: 'I wish the last wish to be finished.'

This time something different happens. My words fade away as did all the last, but this time in their place appears: 'HAHAHAHA!! But you haven't LEARNED anything yet! HAHAHAHAHA!!!!" and the book slams itself shut. Despite my surprise I reach out and try to re-open the book but the covers remain closed as if the covers and all the pages in between had been super-glued together.

Just then I hear the sound of the doorbell. Too caught up in my quest to get the hell out of this universe before the entire world comes crashing down around me, I don't care enough to answer. They'll probably just go away after a while anyway. But they don't. In fact, From behind me I hear an incredibly familiar voice. One I could never mistake for any other, especially since I know what world I'm in:

"What the hell are you doing?"

I turn to see Asuka standing over me looking very annoyed with having been made to wait for anything. Especially something as stupid as this looks. Behind her stands Shinji looking every bit as shy and embarrassed as I figured he would after entering someone's place uninvited.

"I'm sorry Firru-san… She made me give her the key to your place." Shinji sounds every bit as embarrassed as he looks. And of course he butchered my name the way only a native Japanese speaker could.

"I can't believe you Shinji… I figured that even an idiot like you would've managed to get his name right by now… His name is pronounced 'Fill-ip' With an 'ELLL' sound. Not that 'Firru' stuff you just used."

"I'm sorry, but I haven't quite gotten the hang of that yet… Japanese doesn't exactly have 'erru's' in it you know…"

"AAARGHH!!! Why do you have to do that all the time… 'Sorry' this and 'sorry' that… It's REALLY getting ANNOYING… Why can't you just…"

"Asuka, Shinji…" Asuka stopps in mid-sentence too surprised at my interruption to get mad for it. "If you're going to argue, could you at LEAST do it in my living-room… I'd like to get changed out of my PJ's."

Asuka strikes an indignant pose and looks down at me. "Fine, but when you're done you're going to tell us what was so important about that book that you couldn't answer your own door." With that, she turns on her heel and hauls Shinji along as she leaves my room.

Suddenly, I feel a strange sensation from the book. Not really a physical feeling, but more of an emotion. Kind of like if the book were a person… It'd be laughing it's head off at me.

Yup… Definitely The Twilight Zone…

A/N:

So, What'd you think? Still worth it? Drop me a line in a review please.


	3. I'm Screwed

See Chapter 1 for disclaimer.

Neon Genesis Evangelion:

The Book, My Curse

By: Ravenheart

Chapter 3:

Asuka and Shinji are gone, Asuka just HAD to add a bit of force when she slammed my door closed to get her mood across. For a few seconds after being left alone, I sit there staring at the book as the situation really sinks in. This is what I had said I wanted. Even though I didn't actually want it, The Book gave me exactly what I asked for. I'm in the Eva universe as one of Shinji's friends. But I never even bothered to think about exactly what that would involve.

With a sigh, I push myself off the floor and set The Book aside on my dresser. 'I guess it's about time I get on with this…' I open up the dresser and pull out the parts of my uniform. There's not really much to these uniforms, but still… the fact that I've now got to go through the world of a 14 year-old again isn't exactly pleasant. It'd be bad enough to have to go through it back in the real world in The States. But to do so in a foreign country in the middle of an apocalyptic anime series leaves an even worse taste in my mouth.

"HEY!! What's the holdup!?"

I leave my room and meet the other two in the living room. Shinji's sitting in a rather comfortable looking recliner, while Asuka is standing near the end of the short hall leading to my room making sure that there's no way I could even conceive of getting away without giving her the explanation she believes she deserves. "You know Asuka, impatience isn't very flattering on you."

"Hah! What would you know? Since I got here, you've tried to go out with three different girls. Granted, they all agreed to a first date, but apparently you loused up each one and now none of them will do more than talk to you in passing. Obviously you don't know the first thing about women."

"Oh? And you're such an expert on men?" Okay… what the hell? Where is this coming from? First I get teleported into another dimension, and now I can't even control my own speech?

Asuka grins like she's actually enjoying this. "As a matter of fact I am. But a BOY like yourself would never understand the finer points of the topic." She finishes her statement with a very 'holier-than-thou' posture and walks back over to where Shinji is sitting to haul him up out of the chair. But before he realizes that he's her target I get the distinct impression that he was amused by this little exchange.

NOW it comes to me… of course… after the fact, I get this memory of Asuka and I arguing back and forth on topics simply because both of us are rather good at it. Well, good for 14 year-olds anyway. I suppose the reason that I can argue with her like this is because I have a tendency to put my arguments in a tone that makes it clear that the statement was a joke, and that I just keep the whole argument from becoming a confrontation.

Of course, that's not to say that I win many of the arguments, just that I can stand my ground with her in one. For a while at least.

"Are you gonna space out all morning or are we going to try to be on time for school?"

Damn… "Right, just let me grab my bag." The search for my bag is a short one, as I had left it, and all of my homework, on the kitchen table the night before. Gathering up the papers, I note that I'm not in the same class as the others. 'Guess even in a world one wishes for, one can't have everything, huh?' I stuff the papers quickly into my bag along with the laptop the school issued out to me when I registered.

Leaving the kitchen, I notice that Asuka had apparently gotten tired of waiting for me to get my ass in gear and had dragged Shinji along as she went ahead. I lock up my apartment as I muse to myself that even though she'd deny it even to herself, the fact that she does in fact have SOME feelings, whatever those may be, for Shinji. After locking the door, I huff it to the stairwell where I take the stairs two at a time, using the rail for balance in an attempt to get to the ground floor and catch up to Asuka and Shinji.

As I'm descending the last few steps of the stair, my hand catches on one of the supports for the rail just long enough to throw me off-balance. I try to get my feet back under me, but it's too late. My momentum continues to carry my body forward as my shoulders had stopped, causing me to fall on my back on the steps. But thankfully, I had put my pack on before starting down the stairs. Hitting the steps still hurt like hell, but at least I didn't break anything.

I'm fine physically, in pain, but still fine. 'Now there's no way I'm gonna be able to make it to school on time, let alone catch up with Shinji and Asuka.' The only thing I can think about for a while after that is how good it was that Asuka was nowhere nearby to see that or the whole school would've gotten wind of it shortly after her arrival.

Anyhow, I got to school. Late. But apparently I'm not one who makes a habit of it, so the sensei let it slide this once since it's just a cleaning day. Dammit… so much for not getting worse. First I fall on the stairs, and now I have to clean a classroom while feeling like shit.

I grab a broom, and get to work sweeping the floor. As I'm sweeping up dust into a pile, someone comes over an pats me on the back, sending slight waves of pain up my spine.

"Hey man, you look like hell." Kano. Apparently a buddy of mine in this class. He looks traditionally Japanese, but his hair is kinda long, and lighter than most others. "What happened to you?"

"Promise me this goes no further than you."

He looks puzzled, but nods: "Sure, promise."

I sigh, "I was in too much of a hurry after waking up late and I fell on the last few steps of the stairs of my apartment building."

He snorts at the obvious absurdity of what happened, but stifles it as I glare daggers at him for making light of my problems. "Well, that explains the yelp you made when I hit you on the back just a bit ago."

"You know, with friends like you, who needs enemies…"

He just laughs at me as he bends down with the dust pan ready for me to sweep up the dirt into. He may make fun of me, but he is still a friend.

At least I know I have some here in The Twilight Zone…

TBC

A/N: Hmm… actually longer than the first chapter by a few words… I don't apologize for the delay. If you've read any of my other works, you should be used to delays from me by now.

As always, R&R.


	4. School Again

See Chapter 1 for disclaimer.

Neon Genesis Evangelion:

The Book, My Curse

By: Ravenheart

Chapter 4:

It didn't really take long to finish cleaning the classroom. All in all it took the 25 or so of us about two and a half hours to get everything swept, dusted, wiped down, and squared away. It may have gone faster if the slackers who didn't show up had been here, and if those that did would actually DO something other than stand around and talk, but I can't complain, the extra time to relax before lunch was a welcome relief after sweeping the whole floor after falling down half a flight of stairs.

I was, needless to say, quite miffed during the first part of class, but thanks to Kano's rather… unique… sense of humor, the pain got just a tiny bit easier to cope with and things moved a bit more quickly too. Of course, seeing him get slapped for 'accidentally' 'almost' hiking up one of our fellow student's skirts helped my bruised ego some as well. Even though my mood had lifted slightly, I could still tell that people were avoiding me, giving me a bit more space than I would consider normal. So after a quick, stealthy B.O. check, I figured I was still putting out some bad vibes and tried to calm down a bit more.

By the time lunch rolled around, most of the class was chatting away, the girls spreading the latest gossip, the guys more or less talking about the girls and which ones they would most like to be 'involved' with. Kano was trying fairly successfully to talk to me about some of the upcoming baseball games on TV.

"So are you gonna stop by tonight and watch the game or what?"I shrug; "I dunno. I might, but I've got a lot of work to do." Yeah, I know I lied, but I don't know if I have any sort of job or not.

"Oh come on… The Bats are playing for the pennant tonight. You can't leave a guy hanging like this."

"To tell you the truth, I don't really like Japanese Baseball as much as the Stateside version. For one, the games don't end after 7 innings, and the game CAN'T end in a tie."

"Alright… Fine. I see how it is. You've got a girl, don't you?""WHAT?"

"Yeah. Seriously, a guy turning down the chance to watch a championship game with his best pals. There's GOT to be a girl involved. So, who is she?"

"There's no girl. Besides, do you really want to get me pissed at you right now?"

"Sure, I figure it'll get to the point where you want to take a swing at me, and your poor back will floor you. So I got nothin' to worry about. Now stop trying to evade the question."

"I told you, there's no girl. Just let it go."

"Alright, I'll let it go. IF you agree to watch the game with me."

OOH… Okay, NOW I understand why this guy is someone I call a friend. Even though he's obnoxious, loud, and borderline rude, he's still sharp and on-the-ball. Exactly the kind of thing most people I like have in common.

"Alright… But make sure you've got some good snacks. I'm gonna invite Shinji and his friends too if that's alright."

"You mean The Stooges? Sure, why not. A game is always more fun when watched with a bunch of buddies. Tho, I wouldn't be surprised if that red-headed terror decided to crash the party…"

"Oh come on… the one place in the world she wouldn't be caught dead at is at a baseball party surrounded by a bunch of guys." Heh… even if she did somehow end up there, she'd probably just end up arguing with Touji for a while, call Hikari and go someplace with her. Shortly after telling us all how stupid we are…

"Hmm… you might be right, but have you noticed that most of the time, she and Shinji are almost joined at the hip?"

"What are you talking about? She can barely stand him."

"I dunno, I think there's something more to it than that." Kano grins with this almost as wide as he did shortly after getting slapped earlier.

"Come on… get real. THOSE two? No way."

"And WHO exactly are you two idiots talking about?"

The two of us jump slightly as a new voice enters our conversation. We look up and see one half of the pair we're talking about. My biggest concern is that she doesn't look happy.

"What are you doing here?"

"What? Am I not allowed to move through the building as I please?"

"Well technically, no, you're not. But since it's lunch and all, I suppose there's no problem with you being here." Oi… Sometimes, I wish he'd just shut up.

"What are you talking about now? The only reason most of the students here right now haven't gone home yet is because they'd rather eat lunch with their friends than go home. Speaking of which why didn't you come to eat with the stooges? Is there some problem you had to discuss with this idiot?" Asuka nods toward Kano at the end of her last question.

"Damn… Were they waiting?"

"Obviously. Shinji's being his usual self and worrying about why you haven't shown up yet and thinking it's because we left without you this morning.""OH! THAT'S how you ended up falling down the stairs!"

I see the taunts forming in Asuka's head the moment she hears that. I'm gonna KILL Kano for this I swear. "You…" Asuka can barely contain her laughter now. "Fell down the stairs?"

"Just the last few steps, yeah. But if you'd have waited a minute or two more, I wouldn't have."

"Uh huh… With your luck you probably would have just ended up falling somewhere else today."

'You have no idea about my luck' I think to myself. "Look, can we just drop this? Oh, and don't tell anyone else about me falling down the stairs Asuka."

"Or what? What would you do if I did?"

Hmm… good question… What would Asuka absolutely not want other people to know about her that I'd have a decent excuse for knowing? Ah! I know!

"Well, I could tell everyone about…" I get up and lean close to Asuka and whisper something to her before she can reflexively pull away.

"How??? Wait a second… Shinji is so dead…""If you do anything to him over this, it gets out."

Asuka screws up her face in a huff since she knows I've got her in a hard place. "You tell people that and I'll tell everyone about you."

I shrug. "What? They'd think you're just making up a lame rumor to distract them from you."

We both stop at the same time and look at the third party to this discussion and call a truce temporarily as we look back at each other.

She starts the solution to this little problem. "You tell anyone about any of this and you'll regret it."

"Right. What exactly are you gonna do to stop me?"

My turn. "We're BOTH gonna beat you senseless if you say one word to anyone starting a rumor that there's some unknown gossip about either Asuka or myself." Heh… THAT got his attention.

"Okay, okay. Fine, you win. Some friends you are."

"A friend wouldn't have to threaten a friend to keep little things like these secret."

"Come with me Phil. You need to get Shinji out of this little funk he's in." Asuka moves around and stands imperiously behind me thinking it'd be more intimidating that way.

"Fine. Just gimme a sec to get my stuff together. Or, you could just leave without me like you did this morning." As I stand up, I realize for the first time that I'm a few inches taller than her, more or less removing any real intimidation factor she had a moment ago.

"Hmm… I could just leave you here, but then I'd have to put up with Shinji and you'd probably try to skip out of this mess."

"Come on Asuka… we both know that Shinji's a really withdrawn guy. Doing something like that would only make things a hundred times worse in his head."

"You know, when you two get going, you sound more like a married couple than she and Shinji did a while back."

At that comment Asuka and I both glare daggers at Kano who immediately sinks into his seat with a very quiet "Shutting Up."

Outside the classroom a few moments later, Asuka and I are walking down the hall toward the doors leading out to the school grounds and where the rest of the group is waiting.

"When will that idiot learn when he's pushing the line?"

"You're asking me? I think he'll learn when someone actually tries to hurt him after one of his comments."

That actually got a laugh from her. "What would make that even better is if it was you. You go to take a swing at him and end up doubled over from the pain in your back." And with that she continues laughing at my expense.

Sigh… this day is only half over and its already getting old. The Twilight Zone is an even weirder place than I thought...

TBC…


	5. Angel Attack

See Chapter 1 for disclaimer.

Neon Genesis Evangelion:

The Book, My Curse

By: Ravenheart

Chapter 5:

Asuka leads me out to the part of the courtyard where she, Hikari and the stooges are eating. As she said, Shinji is looking kinda down about something, but won't speak up about it. I greet everyone before sitting down, taking out my lunch and finish eating it. Kensuke is going on about how Shinji was so cool in the last battle, but almost as soon as he starts, Asuka shoots him down revealing that he wasn't even AT Mt. Asama for the fight and that it was her who actually killed the angel anyway.

'Okay… at least now I know about where I am in the timeline. I should have at least a few months before things really start going to hell around here.' I look over to Shinji, and I can tell he looks a little disappointed that Asuka didn't say anything about him pulling her cute little ass out of the proverbial and quite literal fire.

'If Sandalphon was the last angel they defeated, then the next one should be… oh yeah, Matarael. Probably the weakest of all the angels the pilots faced.'

"Hey Shinji, you and the other two stooges want to join me and Kano to watch the Bats game tonight?"

The response is instantaneous from Touji… "Sure. It'll beat watchin' the game with my old man and gramps."

"I might as well go along too. There's really nothing much better to do around here. How about you Shinji?"

"Umm…" Shinji looks a little nervous. "What time does the game start?"

"Around seven."

"I might be able to make it. But I'll probably be late. We have some stuff to do at NERV when after we leave today."

Asuka looks at her watch hearing Shinji's statement, "Scheiße. We have to go baka." And with that, Asuka hauls Shinji off after they get their stuff together and Asuka says goodbye to Hikari, making Shinji shout his goodbyes as he's trying to keep up with her.

"Well, now what?" I ask Touji and Kensuke, hoping they'd have some idea of something to do to kill time until tonight. Unfortunately, they look at each other and shrug.

"Honestly… sometimes you guys really do make it easy to see why Asuka started calling you stooges…" Hikari sighs as she gets up, bows and leaves us alone to find some of her other friends.

"Look, why don't we just find Kano and start figuring out what we want for tonight…"

The two of them nod and follow me back to where I left Kano only to find that he had left since I went to eat with Shinji and his friends.

I ask the other students who are still around where he went and it turns out that he ended up needing to go to the nurses office after getting slapped AGAIN. Apparently this time he didn't do anything really lewd, he just picked the wrong words and instead of convincing the girl that he'd be a cool guy to go out with, they just insulted her and she ended up damn near flooring him before stalking off.

"Honestly Phil, when is he gonna learn?"

"Learn what? To watch what he says around girls or to just avoid them in general for the rest of puberty?"

"Either" comes from Kensuke.

"Really, the guy has NO luck. At least YOU got the girls to go on one date with you."

"Really Touji, was that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?"

Touji stops to run back through what he just said and realized how it sounded. "Sorry man, I didn't mean it like that and all… I was just saying that…""Don't worry about it Touji. Just try and think about how you want to say something before saying it next time…"

The three of us eventually track Kano down as he's leaving the nurses office. "Hey guys. You looking for me?"

I make sure I'm the first one to speak or we'd never get anywhere as Touji and Kenuske would probably start picking on him for his lack of luck with girls. "Actually, yeah we are. We were gonna head out and start getting stuff together for tonight."

"Sounds cool. Let's get goin'."

As we leave the school, Touji and Kano start talking baseball as Kensuke and I start talking tech. It really is a great arrangement having a couple of sports nuts and a couple of techies in the same group, that way no one feels left out of the conversation.

Later, as we're in a convenience store selecting snacks for later, the power goes out.

The others look around startled at the sudden lack of artificial light. "What the heck is going on? Why'd the power go out?" Kensuke asks as he sweeps his camera around the store trying to capture these unprecedented events.

In my mind however, it's a whole different story since I know exactly why the power has gone out and what is on its way here.

"Man, I hope the power comes back on before the game tonight. I don't want to miss anything."

Faking a shocked look, I start out the door: "Sorry guys, but I need to get back to my place and shut my computer down before my backup power source runs out! I'll try to catch up with you guys later!"

As I run through the streets, I think about what to do. I could try to use the book to influence events, maybe making things easier on Shinji and the others, but I don't know what kind of effect that would have on the timeline. Or, I could just try to keep the truly horrible things from happening.

I stop as I realize what I'm thinking about… Change the Eva timeline to something less depressing and self-destructive? Can I really do that? Do I have the right? Well, in either event, this angel doesn't really make much progress into the geofront, and none of the pilots suffer too much from its attacks.

I look up and around me, realizing that I have ABSOLUTELY no idea where I am. Apparently, in my attempts to figure out what to do, I lost track of where it was I was going. "Great, now what?"

I begin to wander the streets as I try to figure out where I am and how to get back to my apartment. After about 30 minutes of wandering, I hear a plane approaching. I already know what the message will be.

"There is an angel approaching this area, we advise all civilians to evacuate to the nearest shelters immediately." I say along with the person on the plane. All the while with him sounding much more urgent than me. These events take on a whole different feeling when you already know their ultimate outcome…

In any event, I start looking for other people to follow to the shelters. But as hard as I try, I'm apparently in one of the areas of the city that's still deserted since the angels arrived. After continuing to wander the streets looking for a shelter, I see a hatch on one of the buildings down the street open after being kicked by none other than Asuka. If I had been closer, I might have gotten a good look up her skirt but… 'Ahh! Bad Brain! I'm 26 years old, even if I am in a 14 year old version of myself again that's no excuse to revert to old ways.'

But my thoughts are interrupted as a dark green 'leg' lands right in front of the door she just kicked open, followed soon after by a large, green mass from behind one of the nearby buildings, much closer to me than to the pilots. Before I can react to the sight of the angel, I'm knocked off my feet as one of the angel's other three legs comes down about 20 feet behind me.

'Oh shit! The show didn't do this angel justice!' The whole angel's body is covered in eye-like designs like it was in the anime, but what the anime didn't show was the fact that in the sunlight, many other eye patterns shone iridescently in the light, giving the whole angel an eerily prismatic sheen. Also, the main patterns on its body aren't actually patterns as I can see a few eyes lock directly on me as others move around surveying the angel's surroundings.

After pausing briefly in its advance to observe a few of the creatures it considers its enemy, the angel continues on past the street, the other buildings in the area obscuring it from view.

Even though I was kind of expecting to see the angel at some point, I had no way of knowing that it would look THAT different from what I remembered. As a result, the angel had the same effect on me that I remember it having on Asuka. While all she had to do was run up and close the door, I had no options other than to run for cover. Which my back made incredibly difficult since the angel knocking me down aggravated my injury from earlier today.

As I bunker down in the lobby of a rather decent looking hotel, I consider my options. I could either try to follow the angel to its destination and watch as it's beaten by the pilots, or I could go run for cover like a good, obedient civilian should.

After the tremors from the angel's movements had subsided, I get up from the floor, and start looking around for about where the angel went. It doesn't take very long to figure out thanks to the angel's long legs sticking up from behind the various skyscrapers which are currently stuck in their deployed positions thanks to the power outage.

I spend a few minutes looking for a building which would give me a good view of the angel, but would also be far enough away to be out of danger when the angel explodes. I find one in fairly short order and start bounding up the stairs, ignoring the pain in my back as I make my way to the roof.

The view from here is absolutely spectacular, in a morbid kind of way considering what the view is of, but at least from here, the secondary pattern on the angel's body isn't easily visible. I also notice that the angel's eyes are all looking down toward the hole in the ground as it pours huge amounts of its orange acid down the shaft below it towards the geofront.

Shortly after I arrive, it releases a burst of acid into the shaft. 'Ah, looks like the pilots are here.' I watch as the angel continues to release burst after burst of acid continuing its attempt to breach the geofront.

A few minutes later, it releases another, much larger burst of acid meaning the three pilots must have started their offensive.

Just then, I notice several of the angel's eyes turn to look directly at me. As a burst of pain unlike any I had known before bursts inside my head.

[Who are you lilim? Why are you here?

Along with the yelled question, a thousand other harmonious voices in the background each in another language erupt from nowhere in my mind. And just as quickly as they had appeared, they vanish as a massive explosion erupts from where the angel had just been.

Okay… now the Twillight Zone has me worried…

A/N: Ahh… it feels good to have time to write again. I plan on trying to make each chapter longer than the previous one until the chapters get to a point where I think they're long enough to get things done and hold people's interest.

As always, R&R, Flames will be laughed at then ignored.


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